Since June 25, the KDPI have been clashing with the IRGC in the Mariwan area of Iranian Kurdistan. The KDPI reported that their Peshmerga were repeatedly ambushed by the Iranian forces, who were using artillery and helicopters to enforce a military siege of Sawlawa.
Two of the KDPI’s Peshmerga were surrounded in the village of Boriar and fought off the Iranian forces for two hours, killing a number of the Iranian forces.
“Having run out of ammunition and in order to avoid a situation where they risked being captured alive by the Iranian forces, Kawa Jawanmard and Sarkawt Samadi took their own lives with their last hand grenades,” reads the KDPI’s statement.
The KDPI, whose headquarters are based in the Kurdistan Region, and the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have clashed several times in Kurdish areas of northern Iran since mid-June.
Inspired by the growing autonomy of Kurds in the region, KDPI leadership made the decision to “reinvigorate” their political activities in Iranian Kurdistan “to facilitate closer interactions with the Kurdish people,” stated the KDPI in a June press release.
“PDKI [KDPI] has sent its political cadres into different cities to carry our political activities. Due to security concerns, they have been accompanied by Peshmerga Forces, the statement reads. “The Iranian regime imprisons, tortures and executes Kurdish political activists linked to PKDI and other Kurdish organizations. Considering this reality, PDKI has decided that political cadres should always be accompanied by Peshmerga for protection.”
The KDPI statement insists they have not targeted any Iranian institutions or military but have clashed with IRGC forces only to defend themselves when attacked.
In recent interviews, Mustafa Hijri, the secretary-general of the KDPI, has said that Iran’s increasing violence has left the KDPI Peshmerga with no choice but to intensify their struggle against the Iranian government.
“The Islamist regime subjects civilians to the most brutal forms of violence on a daily basis, and this is a sign of weakness rather than strength,” Hijri said.
